Normal Life
by Rebecka313
Summary: Normal life is treating Seto and Yugi in ways they never imagined. With two children to raise, and their own relationship struggling…can they make it through living so normally?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Normal life

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this story

Summary: Normal life is treating Seto and Yugi in ways they never imagined. With two children to raise, and their own relationship struggling…can they make it through living so normally?

Rated M for future, and is a love story between Seto Kaiba and Yugi Moto, so if you don't like that then please don't read.

Note: This is my first time posting on this site, but I was a very active writer on another journal-type site…I stopped writing for a LONG time, and have just gotten bored. If I'm doing something wrong with posting, will someone please let me know?

ONE

"Shh," Seto said quietly. Yugi smiled as he looked through the crack in the door. Seto Kaiba was rocking their infant son to sleep, his own eyes growing tired and his hair disheveled. Yugi wanted to enter the room, to put the baby to bed, but he didn't want to break the moment—because they were rare. Seto was seldom gentle and the times he'd held Kyo could be counted on one hand.

"Papa," Aemi said quietly, pulling on Yugi's sleeve. "Is it time for bed?"

Yugi looked through the crack in the door and sighed: Seto had put Kyo in his bed and was coming their way. "Yes," Yugi said. "Time for bed."

He picked the girl up and brought her to her bedroom. He tucked her into her sheets and sat on his knees next to her, all the while feeling Seto's eyes on his back. "I'm scared," Aemi said, as she always did.

"Why?" Yugi asked quietly, touching her forehead gently.

"Monsters," Aemi said obviously. "In the closet, under the bed…"

"Those monsters are too scared to come out," he smiled. "They know tomorrow is a big day for you."  
"I'm scared, still," Aemi said. "What if…the other kids don't like me?"

"How could they not?" Yugi asked, switching on the night light next to the bed. He could see Aemi's eyes drooping and knew there wasn't much left to their conversation.

"My…hair," Aemi whispered, her eyes closing. "Monsters mess it up," were her last words.

Yugi waited a full minute to make sure she was actually asleep before he stood up, kissed her forehead, and headed towards Seto.

"Kyo sleeping?" he asked, though he already knew.

Seto nodded.

"You tired?"  
"You shouldn't let her think monsters are real," Seto said gruffly, ignoring the question.

"Aren't they?" Yugi suggested, and Seto just rolled his eyes. "We don't need to discount monsters completely—just the bad ones."

"That doesn't make sense at all."

"She's four," Yugi rolled his eyes. "Monsters are a part of her life. We need to do whatever it takes to make her comfortable with them."  
"She's four," Seto reiterated.

"Are you a worried daddy?" Yugi teased, and Seto's eyes grew tighter.

Instead of answering, Seto went to the bedroom, undressed, and dropped into the bed. When Yugi came along moments later, having checked on Kyo, he did the same.

He could feel Seto drawing closer to him, despite his hardened scowl. Seto Kaiba did not like to admit he had feelings of any type—and to most of the world, he did not have any. But he'd known Yugi for over ten years, and eight of them had been spent in a strange, rollercoaster relationship. Though he'd never once openly admitted that he possessed any feelings beyond desire, Yugi knew the truth.

"Aemi wants us to drive her to school in the morning," Yugi said. "I said you were probably going to be busy."

Seto was quiet, and that answered the unasked question.

"I'll drop Kyo off at the daycare and then meet you at work," Yugi said. "We're testing out some new merchandise, right?"

Seto nodded. His body was flush against Yugi's by then and his fingers were dancing nonchalantly up and down Yugi's bare arm.

"I wish we could take a vacation," Yugi said quietly, moving his body into Seto's embrace. "Just take the kids and get out of here."

"Why?" Seto's voice was soft and curious.

"I…just…want to do something new."

"And having a baby isn't something new?"  
Yugi smiled. "It was…but he's growing up."  
"It's been two months," Seto said, his Yugi saw a smirk on his face.

"Settling down is so boring," Yugi admitted. "After saving the world a couple times, raising two kids and living in a flat in the city just doesn't excite me anymore."  
"Are you an adrenaline junkie?"

Yugi just shrugged. "I miss how things used to be."

"Would you give everything up, for a chance at the old life?"

"Of course not. I like my life now—I love Aemi and Kyo, and…you."  
Seto's silence followed, and Yugi just sighed. He never expected to hear a returned "I love you" but it would have been nice, just to verbally hear Seto say it. Just once.

"I'll go," Seto finally said after Yugi had almost fallen asleep.

"Where?"

"To take Aemi to school."

Yugi felt something welling in his stomach and it was hard to suppress. He wiggled so that his face was inches from the other man's. "She'll be so happy," he smiled. "And so will I."

Seto leaned down and kissed Yugi gently—a single, chaste kiss on the lips before he settled into the bed and closed his eyes.

"Good night," Yugi whispered, and Seto just grunted in return.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Normal life

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this story

Summary: Normal life is treating Seto and Yugi in ways they never imagined. With two children to raise, and their own relationship struggling…can they make it through living so normally?

Rated M for future, and is a love story between Seto Kaiba and Yugi Moto, so if you don't like that then please don't read.

TWO

Seto got up before Yugi and dressed himself before calling work to let them know he'd be late. He took ten minutes to get Aemi up and out of bed and then helped her pick her clothes for school.

"I want to wear the blue shoes," Aemi complained when Seto grabbed the pink ones from the closet.

"But it doesn't match your clothes at all," he pointed out.

"Blue," Aemi said, and she wouldn't budge.

Sighing, Seto pulled down the blue shoes and got a pair of socks as well. Aemi put on the socks and shoes, but she let her feet dangle over the bed and the laces dragged on the floor.

"I can't tie," she said when Seto looked at her expectantly.

He managed to not roll his eyes and bent down, putting her foot on his knee and moving his hands slowly so she could see. "Cross the laces," he said, "loop them, and them pull."

Aemi watched carefully. When it was her turn to try the other shoe, she stumbled after crossing the laces and sighed. Her eyes filled with tears and she folded her arms across her chest. "I can't do it," she said.

Seto looked into her eyes for a moment, pushing away his need to chide, and took her hands in his own. "I'll help you," he said, placing her hands back on the laces. "Cross them," he instructed, and Aemi did. "Loop them," he said, and guided her hands, "and now, pull them." She pulled loops tightly and when Seto's face smiled gently at her, she smiled back.

"I did it!" she said excitedly. "All by myself!"

Instead of reminding her that he had helped, Seto nodded. He stood up and pointed to her backpack hanging on the door knob before helping her into it. "Yugi is still sleeping," he said for some reason. He felt the need to explain why it had been him to help her get ready. "I don't really…know what else to do."

Aemi smiled. "Now we make breakfast."

"I can do that," Seto nodded, trying to convince himself more than anything. "What do you eat? Cereal?"

"Waffles," Aemi corrected him. "I want waffles."

Seto followed her into the kitchen. He searched the cabinets for waffles in a box and came up empty handed. When he turned around, Aemi had several items on the table and was trying to crack and egg into a bowl. Sitting down beside her, he watched her carefully.

Aemi was a beautiful child. She had his hair and his serious, blue eyes. Her birth mother had been specifically chosen to look like a cross between Seto and Yugi, and he had to admit—if Yugi had been the one to give birth to this girl, she couldn't have looked any more beautiful. She had been born during a time of turmoil between her parents. Though she had been created using Seto's genes, he was not present for the majority of her first year of life.

Though Seto would never admit it, he was glad Aemi was too young to remember his absence. He had returned after eight months on his own, and Yugi had taken him back without question and without comment. Aemi had taken to him instantly, seeming to understand that he was her biological father from the start.

Bonding with the girl had never actually taken place, though Seto was aware that she was constantly watching him—copying him. He'd dulled down the cursing and forced himself to have more self-control than ever before. He wasn't sure why the eyes of one little girl could change his entire outlook, but Aemi had made him want to be better, if only for her sake.

As she grew older, Seto had found himself doing whatever it took to make her happy—vacationing at Disney Land, shopping, and once he'd even gone on a father-daughter camping trip with her Girl Guide troop (though he'd vowed to never do it again). To Seto, Aemi had completed the family he had made with Yugi, and the three of them had been perfectly happy together until a year earlier, when Kyo's existence was planned.

"You have to plug in the thing," Aemi said, and Seto's eyes snapped to hers. "You know, the thing."

"What thing?"  
"The waffle thing," Aemi said, pointing over her shoulder as she stirred the mixture.

"Do you know what to set it on?" Seto asked, trying to fiddle with the machine.

"I think a thousand."

Seto scratched his head before deciding medium heat would do. When Aemi finished stirring the waffle mix, he poured it into the waffle maker and grimaced when it got on his shirt. He sat at the table while the monstrosity cooked and was joined by Aemi.

"Papa?"' she said, and he looked at her. "Do you like Kyo?"

Seto wasn't sure how to answer, so he just shrugged. "Don't you?"

"Not when he cries. I don't think I cried that much. Did I?"

"I don't remember," he lied. "Probably."

"I did not!" Aemi said, offended.

"All babies cry. It's what they do."

"Maybe the monsters are in his room now," Aemi suggested.

Seto sighed. "There are no monsters, Aemi," he tried.

"I've seen them," she insisted. "At your work…there are lots of them."

"Those are holograms."

She nodded. "I know…and scary."

Seto shook his head. "No, holograms aren't real. I program them to be scary on a computer."

"Why would you do that?" she demanded, her voice accusingly harsh.  
"It's my job—I design technology to make things look more real."

"But…why?"

"Because people like to play games with holograms."

"But why?"

Seto put his hand under his chin and had a staring contest with Aemi. He knew she just wanted to be difficult and he was too tired to keep playing her game.

Aemi blinked twice during their game before throwing her hands in the air. "Waffles are burning," she said, and Seto rushed over to the counter where he threw open waffle maker and groaned.

"This is unsalvageable," Seto said. He grabbed a box of Cherios from the cabinet and sat it down in front of her. "Cereal it is."

"I like breakfast better when papa Yugi makes it," Aemi said, sticking out her tongue.

"Me too," Seto agreed.

Aemi poured herself a bowl of cereal and Seto poured the milk, watching her take a few bites. "Papa?" she said after a moment. "You need to change your shirt."

Seto looked down and realized she was right—there was too much waffle mix on it to just wipe away. He nodded and headed back up the stairs, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.

When he entered the room, Yugi was just getting up.

"Crap," Yugi said. "We're running late."

"Aemi's already dressed," Seto said quietly, removing his shirt and throwing it into the laundry. He was in the process of grabbing another shirt when Yugi's arms snaked around from behind and held him in an embrace.

Seto leaned into him without a word.

The two held their pose for a moment until Yugi heard the baby begin to cry. He passed in front of Seto for just a moment, kissing him on the lips, before hurrying out of the room in just his robe.

Seto dressed with a feeling of want—need—for Yugi, but when both the kids awake, there was nothing he could do about it. Thoughts of the janitor's closet, or perhaps even his desk at work, filled his mind and he had to shake his head to put his thoughts back on track. When he'd finished buttoning his shirt, he headed back down the stairs to make sure Aemi was ready.

Ten minutes later, Yugi met them with the baby in his arms and the four of them went to the car.

"Papa?" Aemi asked, and both Yugi and Seto looked at her. "Papa Yugi," she clarified, and Yugi smiled.

"Yes?"

"Who will pick me up?"

"We talked about this yesterday," Yugi said. "We'll send a driver to get you and bring you to us."

"Why can't you come get me?"

"I'll be working."

"And Papa Seto?"

"He'll be working too."

"Then who is getting Kyo?"

"We'll pick him up together at six."

"I'm scared of your office," Aemi said, and Yugi sighed.

He looked to Seto before an idea struck him and he smiled. "How would you like to spend the afternoon with uncle Joey and aunt Mai?"

Aemi's eyes lit up and she nodded. "Can I?" she begged.

"I'll call and ask, but they've been dying to have you over to their new place…"

By the time the car had arrived at the school, it had been decided that aunt Mai would pick Aemi up at the end of the school day. She was so excited that the daunting thought of the first day no longer plagued her.

There were dozens of parents walking their children inside, so when the car parked, Yugi got out and unbuckled Kyo from his infant carrier.

"Are you coming?" he asked to Seto, and Aemi's pleading eyes faced him as well.

Seto looked out the window and saw all the normal parents taking their normal children into the normal preschool and he sighed. Aemi's gaze wasn't giving him a choice.

"Circle the parking lot," he told the driver, and he got out behind Yugi.

Aemi grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the school and they mixed with the mass of other parents.

"This way, papa," Aemi said excitedly. "Come on!" she pulled him down a hall and into a classroom filled with tiny chairs and desks. Yugi was still behind him and smiled when Seto looked perplexed.

"Good morning, parents," the teacher smiled. "We're all excited for our first day. I thought I'd start by having the kids introduce themselves. I'd like a moment to speak to each of you individually if you have the time, so please stick around for a few minutes."

The preschool was the best in the area that Seto Kaiba's money could buy. It had been rated a top pre-school, with 87% of the students going on to be very successful later in life. Yugi had poured over brochures for weeks before finally deciding on this one. The class sizes were small—a total of eight children per class—and the teachers were over-qualified for the position. Seto had to agree: the preschool was the next best thing to private tutors.

When Aemi's turn to introduce herself came up, she had no problem standing in front of the room and telling about her favorite movies, her little brother, and her two daddies. The room fell very quiet after her introduction, and Yugi could see Seto's obvious discomfort.

It was no secret that Seto Kaiba was gay, and that for eight years running he had been in a relationship with Yugi Moto—but no one had imagined they had children together. Seto bounced on his feet, willing his escape to come faster if at all possible.

"Don't worry," Yugi smiled. "It's 2012."

Seto wasn't sure why that was supposed to make him feel any better, because it didn't, but he put his hand on his head and massaged his temple. He just wanted to shut himself in his office and sign papers all day—why was that so hard to understand?

Nearly twenty minutes later, Yugi and Seto were finally called to the front of the room. They were the last parents to conference with the teacher and the only ones left among the eight children.

"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba," the teacher smiled. "Mr. Moto," she smiled in his direction. "Aemi sure had a lot to say about you guys when we met over the summer!"

Yugi laughed, as if he'd heard the joke a thousand times before. Seto wasn't sure he liked how comfortable Yugi was in the situation—as if he'd been there, done that, before.

"I'm Miss Vale, in case you didn't remember," her eyes met Seto's a second time, and Yugi almost scowled. He didn't like the way she was looking at him. "So, every week we send the kids home with a homework packet due on Fridays. It's work they should be able to do themselves, but should they need help, the directions are at the bottom."

Miss Vale looked briefly at Yugi when Kyo yawned and scrunched up his face, but she quickly found her way back to Seto's eyes. "This year, we'll be learning the basics of reading and numbers, but from what I can tell, Aemi already knows these things."

Yugi nodded, a proud smile on her face. "She's got her father's brain," he said, nudging Seto.

Seto just folded his arms. "She struggles with Rs," he said. "And Vs."

"Yes, and with her advanced level, I'm sure those won't be a problem for her this year." Rummaging around her desk, Miss Vale came up with another paper. "We ask the parents to volunteer certain days to bring snacks into class or sign up for show-and-tell, or to have lunch with the kids…I know you're always busy, Mr. Kaiba, but it would be great if you could sign up for something."

Seto looked over the paper with a quick glance. "Yugi knows the schedule better than I do," Seto said, handing him the paper and taking the baby from his arms.

Yugi tried to hide his shock as Seto cradled Kyo, not sure if he was showing off in front of Miss Vale or if he was trying to get the attention off himself.

"Yes, of course," Miss Vale said. "Well, I ask that all the parents exchange numbers with me so that we can be in constant contact. I've written my cell number down here, and you can fill your number in on this sheet."  
Yugi put down his own number, knowing Seto would want nothing to do with Aemi's school business.

"If you could get that list of sign-up dates back to me by Friday, that would be great," Miss Vale said. "But other than that, I think you guys can go."

Seto was already walking towards the door, but Aemi got up from her desk and ran to him, hugging his leg.

"I have to go," Seto said. "You have to stay."

"I don't want to be alone."  
"There are seven other kids in there," Seto tried.

"They're weird."

Seto bent down to her level and they locked eyes. "We'll pick you up from Joey and Mai's house by seven," he said, and Aemi nodded slowly.

"O-okay," she whimpered. She hugged him tightly before letting go and returning to her desk. Seto left the room before she could change her mind and sighed when the door closed behind Yugi.

"Not so hard," Yugi smiled.

"Awful."

Yugi rolled his eyes and took Kyo back into his arms. "I think today will be a great day."

Seto grunted in response, but he held open the car door for Yugi to put Kyo back in his seat, and then slid in beside them.

The car was filled with an uncomfortable silence until the driver pulled up to the daycare facility. Yugi leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Seto's cheek before taking the baby inside. When he returned, the car was once again engulfed in silence.

Yugi could sense that Seto had something on his mind, but he didn't want to bring it up. Things between them had been stressful since Kyo had come into their lives only two months earlier. Neither got much sleep, and for Seto, it was a first. He had not been there when Aemi was an infant, and therefore did not know what it was like to sleep in the room next to a newborn.

The first night Kyo came home with them, Seto had sat up the whole night walking in circles with his hands on his ears. He'd eventually left to sleep in his car because he couldn't handle the crying, but after an hour he had returned and had taken the screaming child out of Yugi's arms and walked in circles with Kyo until he fell asleep.

It was the first night Seto Kaiba had ever held an infant in his hands, and Yugi could see that it had changed something in him. Their relationship was rocky—and it always had been. From their very first meeting when Seto tore Yugi's grandfather's Blue Eyes card to the day things came to a standstill between them, it was rocky.

The blame didn't completely fall with Seto. Yugi was a demanding person—he wanted attention, and he wanted things out of life that Kaiba was content to not have. Only a year after Seto had returned to the duo of Yugi and Aemi things had fallen apart again: Yugi wanted to live where he would be more accepted, and Seto liked his Domino City high rise. They had argued for month about it until Yugi packed his bags and had his foot out the door before anyone knew what was happening.

Seto followed a week later, and no words were spoken about the incident. And besides, Vancouver was just as beautiful as Domino City. And it was the perfect location to set up the new Kaiba Corps headquarters. And to be honest, besides family, there wasn't much either of them missed about their old home.

Their relationship rocked more during very stressful times at work—particularly when Seto was putting out a new product. He put his heart and soul into everything he did with his company, and sometimes it wasn't enough. Though his products were working great recently, there had been a period when things weren't going his way and he slept with his back to Yugi.

It was hard to please Seto Kaiba when the man could just buy his happiness—but when his relationship with Yugi began, he quickly realized that there was no buying affection. His feelings had to be genuine, and it had been the most difficult thing for him to show that he cared at all.

Yugi smiled when Seto's eyes met his. He didn't expect a smile in return, and he didn't get one. He was content with it as well—Seto could not change overnight, and probably not even over a thousand nights. But Yugi could tell: Seto _was_ changing. He had a family—something he had never had before—and he had a lover, also something he'd never dreamed of having before.

"I'm happy," Yugi said, though his eyes widened when he realized he'd said it out loud.

Seto looked at him with a questioning stare. "Why?" he finally asked.

"Because you're everything I ever wanted."  
Rolling his eyes, Seto positioned himself closer to Yugi's side and their fingers touched. They did not cross, but they touched. And the rest of the ride was made in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

THREE

Kaiba Corps Vancouver headquarters wasn't nearly as daunting as the previous Domino City one. The building wasn't the tallest, the coolest, or even the most extravagant. Instead, it was three stories tall and had little foot traffic. No one was admitted unless they had an authorization card. The KC Headquarters was strictly for research and development of products.

There were other various buildings in the city that actually sold the products, but Headquarters was not one of them. Including Seto Kaiba and Yugi Moto, there were exactly twenty-three people who were granted access cards. Among those granted access, only about ten of them were regulars.

Much to Seto's annoyance, Yugi had given the majority of his friends access cards. And though the cards were used rarely, he hated the unannounced visits Téa made. It wasn't because he was jealous of the relationship Yugi and Téa had almost had—though that played a part in it—but because Téa impeded progress. Yugi was usually very focused on his work and would spend the whole day doing whatever he was asked to do—because that's what vice presidents did—but when his friends showed up, nothing got done.

And unfortunately for Kaiba Corps, Téa showed up.

She was there when Seto and Yugi walked in together, and after rolling his eyes and shrugging when Yugi looked up at him. Seto walked straight past Téa with just a grunt to acknowledge that she was there before taking the elevator up to the top floor.

He was greeted by the secretary before he slid his key card into the door and heard it unlock.

"I don't wish to be bothered," he said simply before closing the door behind himself.

He removed his jacket and dropped down into his chair before turning on the security monitors and watching Yugi's smile brighten as he and Téa talked. Seto's hand clenched against the desk.

It wasn't that he didn't like Téa—and while being completely honest, he didn't like Téa—it was that she could make Yugi smile in ways _he _couldn't. She had known him since childhood, while Seto had only known him for a little more than ten years. She knew things about Yugi that he didn't, and she had a strange ability to make him happy when there was nothing to be happy about.

Téa wore her emotions on her sleeves and had enough to share, while Seto was reserved and if anyone knew that he was a little less than unhappy, it was a miracle. He'd tried hard to smile more, to force himself to show that he was, in fact, happy with Yugi…but it wasn't easy for him. He had been taught to hide his feelings, to keep them to himself, and un-training that behavior was nearly impossible.

Seto had to tear his eyes away from the monitor when his phone began ringing. He let it ring a couple times before picking it up.

"What?" he demanded coldly into the receiver.

"Mr. Kaiba," his secretary said, unphased by his rude tone, "you have a call from an Emmaline Vale. She said it was urgent."  
"Put her through," Seto said without a second thought. Miss Vale was Aemi's teacher. He was already standing, expecting that something had happened.

"Mr. Kaiba!" Miss Vale said. "It's so good I got through."  
"Is Aemi okay?" he demanded, his voice full of concern.

"Oh, yes. She is well."

His hand tightened on the desk again. "Then what do you want?"

"I had an idea," Miss Vale said, her voice slightly taken aback. "I would like to take the kids on a tour of your facility."  
Seto's eyes furrowed. "Why?"

"To show them about animation and holograms. It would be a great field trip!"  
"Aemi is terrified of this place," Seto said.

"It would be great to introduce to them to the greatest conglomerate in history."

Trying to decide if that was compliment, Seto grunted. He heard his door unlock and Yugi and Téa walked in, making him furrow his eyebrows even more.

"Yes, fine. Set it up with my secretary."

He hung up the phone and dropped back into his chair.

"Long day?" Yugi laughed jokingly. "Téa's got some great news!"

Biting his tongue against the need to be rude, Seto managed to make eye-contact and hold it with the girl. "News?" he said, and even he was surprised how civil his voice was.

"She's getting married!" Yugi smiled. "And she wants us to design her wedding!"

Seto grimaced, but he hid it well. "We make toys, not weddings," he said.

"I know," Téa said, "but I thought I'd give Yugi something to do since your new game is going to be out…He said you didn't have any plans for the next couple months."

"I can't tell Yugi what to do," Seto shrugged. "He can plan whatever wedding he wants."

Téa nodded. "I know…but I wanted your help, too."

"Why?" His eyes met Yugi's and he could tell that the idea had not been Téa's. He wasn't sure why Yugi wanted him to work on a project he had no desire to do, but the pleading in the younger man's eyes told him he couldn't refuse.

"Well…" Téa said, "you're the best designer there is."

"I'll do it," he responded. "When does it need to be done by?"  
Téa's eyes were full of relief and she didn't seem to have heard the question, so Yugi answered, "The wedding is being planned for mid-December."

"Fine."

There was an awkward silence that followed and Téa tapped her foot for a moment before deciding it was time to go. Just before she left, Seto internally groaned and forced himself to ask, "So who's the lucky guy?"

Téa grinned. "It's a secret."

With that being said, she left and the door closed behind her. Yugi looked from Seto to the window behind him and finally sighed, sitting down beside him in a rolling chair and then glided away. He rolled back to Seto's side and sighed again.

"We've been here a half-hour and you're already bored?" Seto asked, smirking.

Yugi rolled closer. "Work is always boring."

Their eyes locked. "Always?" Seto said.

"Well…not always." Yugi put his feet up on the desk, succeeding in crinkling a few contracts in the process. Seto's eyes barely glanced in the direction of the contracts as he felt suddenly hotter.

His eyes locked with Yugi's and he wanted nothing more than to shove everything off his desk and take him right there, right then…but doubt filled his mind. It had been weeks since they'd been intimate. With the baby keeping them up all hours and work consuming every ounce of energy either had to spare, there was just no…time.

But Yugi's eyes were still on him. And they wanted nothing more than for Seto to shove everything off his desk and take him right there, right then.

"Yugi…" Seto said quietly, breaking eye-contact. "We can't."

Yugi sighed. "I know. But I'm _so_ bored."

Smiling, Seto shoved Yugi's feet off his desk and straightened out his contracts before dropping a stack into Yugi's lap. "Maybe you should go through these."

Yugi looked through the first few cover pages and his eyes widened. "Disney wants to partner with Kaiba Corps?" he said.

"I denied them the first time," Seto said. "They want us to design a theme park in New York."

"Why'd you say no?"

"Something about dueling princesses…" Seto muttered.

Yugi smiled and then stood up. He walked around to the other side of the desk and then began looking through the contracts. Seto eyed him before doing the same. The office was filled with an unbearable silence.

It was only when Seto realized that he had read the same page eleven times that he said "_Fuck it" _to himself, threw the contact in his hand aside, and moved around the desk to where Yugi had already stood up. Their lips clashed together before another thought crossed either mind.

Hands roamed and bodies touched flush against one another. Yugi stifled a moan, but Seto caught it anyway.

"I want you so bad," Yugi said, and he flushed red.

"Too long…" Seto panted into a deep kiss. His hands were on the verge of removing Yugi's shirt when a knock came at the door and Yugi pulled away. "Damn it, Sarah. I said I didn't want to be disturbed!" Seto yelled.

"Sorry sir…" came her petite reply, "but he insisted…"

Seto strode over to the door and, after making sure Yugi was finished buttoning his shirt again, threw it open.

"Mokuba…" he said, the anger draining from his face.

"Hey, big brother," Mokuba said, smiling brightly. He peered around his brother and saw Yugi sitting against the desk. "Yugi," he nodded to him.

Yugi stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked past the brothers, stopping to smile once, and then leaving. When he was finally out of the room, he took a deep breath and tried to keep the giddy smile off his face.

"Is everything okay?" the secretary asked, and Yugi just nodded.

"I'll be in my office," Yugi finally said. "If you could have the forms Kaiba has already signed sent to me so I can look over them…"

"Of course, sir."

Yugi headed down the hall and entered his office. It was boringly decorated—just a desk facing the window, a few personal photos, and his mass of files he needed to go through. He rarely worked in the office, though, so the plainness of it didn't bother him. He'd usually take his work home or go into the courtyard and sit in the sun.

But he was still trying to get over nearly being caught in the act by none other than Seto's brother. His face flushed red just thinking about it.

He sat at his desk for close to an hour, just tapping his pen and avoiding the glare of the sun on its morning rise. He wanted to badly to run into Seto's office and finish what had been started—it was their only alone time together, ever—but he couldn't. He was too…afraid. Desk sex did not appeal to him as much as it should have.

Yugi almost missed when things were more simple between them. Their first night together had been the most awkward night of their lives. There was no romance involved, just pure sexual frustration after Yugi had beaten Seto in a duel. Again. For the seventh time.

It happened so fast Yugi didn't have a chance to react. _"I'm so sick of you always beating me!" _Seto had said, falling to his knees. _"What am I doing wrong?"_

_ "You're putting your heart in the wrong thing," _Yugi had replied, and Seto looked up at him with wide eyes.

_"Where does it need to be?" _Seto demanded, exasperated.

_"Right here," _Yugi said, dropping down beside Seto. He took the older man's hand in his own and then pressed it against Seto's own chest. _"Right here is where you need to start."_

And then Seto had leaned forward enough for their foreheads to rest against one another, and Yugi's breath had become ragged. His hand felt hot on top of Seto's and it was hard for him to concentrate.

_"There's nothing in there,"_ Seto finally said.

_"Then put your heart here,"_ Yugi insisted, grabbing Seto's hand again and putting it on his own chest. _"Right here."_

And then their lips had crashed together, right there in the dueling ring.

Yugi sighed and had to shake his head when he realized he was smiling. When he'd awakened the next morning, he desperately looked for his clothes while Seto slept and then he'd left with no intention of ever seeing Seto Kaiba again. And for several months, he had been successful. But the temptation of seeing the man again became too much for him, and he'd gone back and didn't leave Kaiba's side again until Aemi was born.

Seto kept his emotions to himself, but Yugi saw through his façade. He could tell when Seto was secretly happy, content to just…be. He could tell when the man was upset and trying to hide it. He had grown to know Seto in ways Mokuba had never understood. Yugi knew that Seto Kaiba wanted the same thing most men secretly wanted: to be loved.

Yugi smiled again and tapped his pen slower. His eyes slowly traveled to the work on his desk and he sighed in defeat. There just wasn't enough time in his day to think about Seto.


	4. Chapter 4

FOUR

Seto's Office:

Mokuba had been sitting on his hands for more than ten minutes just trying to figure things out. He had to tell his brother—but words just wouldn't form. He was almost…afraid of Seto's reaction to what he was going to say.

"You've been sitting there for ten minutes, Mokuba," Seto reminded him. "What do you want?"

He took a breath. "Well…Can you sit down?"

Seto's eyes almost widened when he realized he was standing at the window, absentmindedly looking out. He just grunted and sat. _Yugi, _he said to himself, almost angry. Why couldn't he stop thinking about the other man?

"Well…Seto…I have some news."

"Go on," Seto said, his hand itching to grab a paper or a pen or even a stapler if it would make him feel less…conspicuous.

"Well, I've been studying in California for a while now, you know…And as it happens, so was someone we know. And…well…I've been seeing her."

Seto's eyes tightened. "So what?"

"I mean, for a while now, I guess…and it's pretty serious."

"Okay?"

Seto was trying not to sound cold about it, but did his brother honestly think he cared who he dated? Mokuba had been attending university in California for over four years and was on the verge of graduation. His little brother was twenty-three years old! Of course he could date whomever he wanted.

"Well…it's become pretty serious," Mokuba said again, "and I asked her to marry me."

Seto's eyes landed on his brother's, and for a second he thought the younger was joking. _Two weddings in a day is more than coincidence, _Seto said, feeling something welling in him.

"Who is she?" Seto asked before any congratulations were given.

"Well…that's just the thing. You see, I said we knew her…"

"Please, God, no," Seto groaned. He dropped his head onto the desk. "What have you done, Mokuba?"

"Hey!" his brother said, slightly offended. "Téa is great!"

"You know how much I can't stand her!"

"So now my marriage is about your happiness?"

"Out of four billion women, you had to choose _her_?"

"What's wrong with Téa?" Mokuba demanded.

"First of all, she's four years older than you!"

"So what? You're two years older than Yugi."

"She's…strange."

"How so?"

"Ugh," Seto sighed, tapping his head on the desk a few times before sitting up and rubbing his forehead.

"Why don't you like her?" Mokuba asked, his voice quiet but serious.

"She was in love with Yugi," Seto said, equally as serious. "For years—since they were kids!"

"But she knows he's with you now," the younger Kaiba said. "And now she loves me."

"It's just…_weird_."

Mokuba smiled. "What in our life isn't?"

Seto was quiet for a while, as his eyes had returned to the window. His shoulders were rigid, but he was slowly accepting that his brother's marriage—and to whom—was not in his control. His fingers tightened on the window sill and he finally turned back to Mokuba. "Congratulations," he sighed, and Mokuba smiled brightly.

"I knew you'd come around."

Seto rolled his eyes. "I should have known something was up when she asked Yugi to design the wedding."

"That was my idea," Mokuba laughed sheepishly. "I want something extravagant—you know, to show the world the Kaibas are still at it."

"It'll be extravagant," Seto agreed. _Especially if Yugi is designing it, _he thought to himself with a smirk.

Mokuba was on his feet and walking in circles suddenly. He had already breathed his sigh of relief once, but a new fear had taken over. Before, the biggest obstacle between he and Téa was Seto's approval…but now…?

"Seto, I'm freaking out," Mokuba said and he got an amused smile in return. "I'm getting married!"

"It's no big deal, Mokuba. People get married every day."

"Yeah? Then why aren't _you_ married?"

Seto blinked back the question, having heard it for the first time. He didn't like the way it made his stomach tighten out of fear. Sure, he and Yugi had been together for eight years, but they argued too much to make things permanent. Sure, they had two children together and ran Kaiba Corps together and lived together…but…marriage was more than a piece of paper to Seto. It meant he was giving his whole self to another person—and though he was sure that person would always be Yugi Moto, he was terrified of the thought.

"That's different," he finally said.

"How?"

"I'm not—We're not—It's different, okay?"

"I think Yugi knows you're not as hard as you think you are."

"Would you just get out of here?" Seto demanded, his voice hard, but joking.

"Fine, fine," Mokuba said, putting his hands in the air. He stood up and smiled again. "But I'll see you later. I'm in town until Monday."

Seto nodded and managed to wave. When the door closed, he dropped his head back onto the desk and groaned.

_"I'm not—we're not—" _The words ran through his head. What had he been trying to say? _In love? _Seto shook his head quickly. He did not believe in love—and he certainly couldn't make himself say the word. Did he feel something for Yugi that he did not feel for other people? Yes, of course. Was it love?

He shook his head again and began to tap his pen. He couldn't let his thoughts take over him so easily…It was three hours into the work day and he'd officially only read the first page of the Disney proposition eleven times.

"Sarah!" he called, and his door opened only seconds later. The secretary walked into the room, seriously tempted to remind Seto that he did, in fact, have a phone that would call her better than yelling, but she refrained. "Will you find out if the design team is ready for us?"

"They are, sir. They called this morning before you arrived."

"Tell them we'll be down in ten."

Sarah nodded and closed the door behind herself. She shook her head—wondering who Seto thought he was fooling—before returning to her desk and making the call to the designers. Only moments later, Seto left his office and headed down the hall to Yugi's.

They both exited the office only moments later, Yugi's eyes smiling and his hand rubbing his lips. Sarah just smirked to herself, knowing exactly what was going on in there.

Of course the Kaiba-Moto relationship was no secret. It had been exposed over seven years earlier and had nearly torn the two apart, but Sarah was glad they had pulled through. Seto needed someone to keep his ego in check, and Yugi just needed someone to take care of him the way he deserved to be taken care of. They were the perfect couple.

Except…Seto was so unsure of himself. Sarah just wanted to scream at him when Yugi would storm out of the president's office, because Seto was always at fault, but their relationship was none of her business. Despite the fact that she had made it her business to know everything there was to know about Seto Kaiba.

Sarah McClain had been in love with Seto since before she came to work for him, and she was fairly certain he knew it. But…he had Yugi. And they were the perfect couple. And she was a secretary who couldn't find a better job away from the torture of a love interest.

She watched longingly as Seto and Yugi headed to the elevator together, their arms bumping, and then Yugi's gentle smile before the elevator doors closed.

-Later That Day

"Bye Mr. Kaiba, see you tomorrow!" Sarah called as she walked out to her car. Seto barely nodded to her. He was holding the car door open for Yugi and then slid in beside him.

They were riding in a black car with ultra-tinted windows and a tinted barrier between the driver and the passengers. Seto wasted no time in tangling his fingers with Yugi's and pressing their lips together.

"Missed you…all day…" Yugi said when their lips broke apart.

Seto distanced himself from Yugi for a moment. "Did you know about Mokuba and Téa?" he asked, his voice almost demanding.

Yugi's eyes widened. "Mokuba?" he said excitedly. "Téa and Mokuba? She's marrying _him_?"

"I had a similar reaction," Seto rolled his eyes.

"This is great! Téa wouldn't tell me who it was…I was sure it was a love triangle with Joey or Duke Devlin or something…"

Seto smirked. "Whatever makes him happy…" and then he reattached himself to Yugi.

Their lips were red and swollen by the time Yugi noticed that they had passed right by the daycare, and as much as he didn't want to, he had to push Seto off him. "Passed the daycare," he muttered. "We forgot Kyo."  
Seto shook his head. "Mai's picking him up."

"Why?"

"I need an hour alone with you."

That was all it took for Yugi to throw himself at Seto, willing to be taken right there in the back seat of the car.

By the time the driver had arrived back at their apartment, Seto's tie was already loose and Yugi's first three buttons were undone. The two went from the car to the elevator in seconds, and from there their escapade continued. It seemed to take forever for Yugi to get the door unlocked while Seto was pulling at his shirt, pure desire in his eyes.

As soon as the apartment door closed behind him, Seto's lips claimed Yugi's again and he had the younger man pressed against the wall. His hand ran up Yugi's side, under his shirt, and stopped on his waist. Yugi's own hands were pressed against the wall to steady himself as he allowed Seto to claim him—to _mark_ him—as his own.

Yugi suddenly felt Seto smiling into the skin on his neck and he looked down curiously, almost too afraid to admit that it was ruining the mood.

"What?" he demanded.

"It's just…" Seto said, meeting Yugi's eyes, "I think…" he stopped and instead kicked open the bedroom door and Yugi followed suit.

Seto pushed him backwards so that his back hit the bed with a gentle thud and then climbed on top of Yugi. He dominated him again, kissing down his neck and finally down his chest which had been bared. His hands slipped Yugi's shoulder's out of his button-down as he went lower, touching all the right places with his mouth and making Yugi gasp.

But, once again, Yugi felt him smiling into what he was doing. Seto sat back on his knees and peered down at the younger man once more.

"What?" Yugi said, this time almost pleading.

Seto's eyes let go of the connection almost immediately and he resumed what he was doing before. But Yugi couldn't get the smile out of his mind, and as much as he desperately wanted continue—as certain parts of his body were insisting attention—he pushed Seto off him.

"What," he groaned, "do you want to tell me?"

Seto groaned and leaned back before dropping on his side next to Yugi. His hand trailed up and down Yugi's bare chest as he tried to choose his words.

Looking into his thoughtful eyes, Yugi stopped Seto's hand and leaned onto his hip. His own hand came to settle on Seto's cheek and their eyes locked.

"What is it?" Yugi asked, his voice soft. "You can tell me anything."

"It's no big deal," Seto said. "It's just…something Mokuba said to me."

"You're thinking about your brother while kissing me?" Yugi said skeptically.

Seto just rolled his eyes. "He asked me…why we weren't married."

Yugi's mouth opened a few times before he just nodded and shrugged. "What did you say to him?"

"That's the funny part—I tried to tell him that I didn't love you; that we weren't in love."

"Oh," Yugi said, almost disappointed.

"But I didn't," Seto clarified. "Because it felt like a lie."

Yugi's stomach felt giddy. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs that Seto Kaiba was in love with him…but he had to restrain himself. "Why did it feel like a lie?" he finally asked when he was calm enough.

"Because…I think I love you."


	5. Chapter 5

FIVE

Yugi woke up with a smile, despite being slightly sore. Somehow, the night has lasted longer than Seto's allotted hour after Joey and Mai brought the kids home. Yugi had quickly put Kyo to bed, and Seto got Aemi in her nightie. They didn't have to wait long before then night was theirs again—and Seto took advantage of every minute they had together.

Yugi couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so content. Not only had he just participated in mind blowing sex, Seto Kaiba had almost admitted to loving him. And almost was nearly there. It was more than Yugi had ever expected from the older man, more than he had ever dreamed for. Hearing the simple word just spoken by Seto had made his eyes water.

By the time Yugi got out of bed, Seto was already up, dressed, and ready for the day. He had Aemi at the table eating cereal and Kyo was sitting on his leg with Seto's arm wrapped firmly around him. Yugi smiled into the kitchen as he saw the sight before him: Seto being a father—not just a dad.

"Papa," Aemi said, making a face. Yugi looked at her, but she was looking at Seto instead. "Kyo drooled on you."

Seto grimaced a bit before shrugging. It wasn't the worst that had happened to him that morning from the tiny human. The day had started for him by changing a diaper—the first diaper he'd ever changed—and it had been a bigger mess than he'd anticipated. Kyo had then spit up on his jacket after the first feeding nearly an hour previous. Drool was actually the _best_ part of his day so far.

"Morning," Yugi said, swooping into the kitchen. He kissed Seto on the cheek and picked up the baby. "What needs to be done?" he asked, and Seto just shrugged.

"Nothing—everyone's ready but you," he said, smirking.

"Homework done?" he asked Aemi, and she nodded. "Baby changed…everyone's dressed…Did I wake up to the apocalypse?"

"Nope!" Aemi said. "Papa Seto said we were going to surprise you."

"I am very surprised!" Yugi smiled at her. His eyes met Seto's and he smiled gently. He did not know that it was possible to feel so…happy.

After Yugi got himself ready, the four of them went to the car and rode first to Aemi's school, where this time she bounded inside with excitement, and then to Kyo's daycare. Seto was on his phone the whole way arguing with someone.

He argued all the way to work and all the way up to his office. He barely even waved to Yugi before slamming the door to his office and yelling into his receiver.

Yugi could hear him all the way in his office.

He wasn't sure if the call was a personal call or not—Seto seemed to be arguing with someone he knew well enough to curse at, which wasn't narrowing it down at all. A few times Yugi could hear Seto's voice go very low, until he was almost growling, and he couldn't make out the words.

He usually didn't pry, but the call had ruined his perfect day. He strained his ears to hear through the wall, but Seto seemed to have hung up and was in the process of shredding a document. Yugi blinked, confused: Seto did not shred his own papers. Ever.

The call must have been serious.

Finally, however, the noises from Seto's office came to an end and there was nothing left to hear except the sound of angry fingers racing across a keyboard.

"Sarah!" Yugi heard Seto yell, and it was then that he got to his feet. He wanted to protect the poor girl from mental harm if at all possible.

"…asked you to call Domino City an hour ago!" Seto was saying by the time Yugi got to the office door. He watched the verbal assult on Sarah's intelligence go on for a full minute before he stepped in, excused Sarah, and shut the door softly behind her.

"Seto…" Yugi said quietly, looking at him. "What's going on?"  
"Damn contract," Seto said, his voice lower as he looked through things on his desk.

"Domino City's contract?" Yugi asked, his eyebrows raising.

Seto just nodded and grunted when he didn't find what he was looking for on his desk. "They breached the contract and are planning to begin selling the new duel discs on Friday."

"But that's a month early!" Yugi exclaimed, understand Seto's frustration.

"And, they're selling them at eleven bucks cheaper."

"They can't do that!"

"I know," Seto said, his voice almost sarcastic. "I have to go there and straighten everything out. They said there was an error on our end, but I looked over those documents myself. I wouldn't have made a mistake like that."

"Of course," Yugi agreed. "This is a complete violation of the contract—and it'll cost you millions if they release early!"

"Something is going on," Seto groaned. "Selling so much cheaper won't even cover the production costs for their sector."

"Do you think…?" Yugi said, but Seto shook his head.

"I'm not making any rash decisions. It's got to just be a misunderstanding."

Yugi blinked. It was the first time that Seto Kaiba ever looked slightly perplexed about something—as if he wasn't sure if he could fix the problem or not. A few millions wouldn't break his bank, of course not, but there was something else going on, Yugi could tell, and he was sure Seto saw it too.

"You should take Mokuba with you, if you can," Yugi said. "He knows more legal stuff than you do."

Seto's eyes widened. "You're not…coming?"

"What do I know about the law? I just sign papers, Seto," he said sheepishly. His voice became serious again, "Maybe you should take the company lawyer as well…This could become serious really fast."

Seto still seemed confused about Yugi not tagging along, and when he tried to force himself to say it, nothing came out.

"Besides," Yugi said, seeing Seto's obvious discomfort, "Aemi's got school and we already paid for the month of daycare for Kyo."

_Money's nothing, _Seto wanted to say. _Come with me, _his head begged. "Fine," he said instead. "I'll take the lawyer."

"I'll call and have the jet ready right away," Yugi smiled and he headed for the door.

"Yugi," Seto said, making him turn. "Is this…okay?" he asked quietly.

Yugi didn't understand at first, but it clicked with him and he nodded with a smile. "Of course it is. I survived without you before, right?"

"Barely," Seto breathed under his breath after Yugi was gone.

He threw papers around his office until he found the original Domino City contract and grabbed his brief case before heading out the door. He got into the elevator and rode to the roof, where a helicopter was waiting to take him to the hangar where his jet was stationed.

He mentally cursed himself for not having said a proper goodbye to Yugi, but he was in too much of a hurry to go back. He made a note to call later and then boarded the helicopter.

Seto had officially been gone for two hours before Yugi slumped his way down the hall and stopped at Sarah's desk. He grabbed a chair and huffed himself into it and placed his head on her desk.

"Sir?" Sarah tried. "Are you okay?"

"He didn't even say goodbye."

Sarah's eyes widened. "I…I'm sorry?"

"I never expect him to," Yugi clarified, "but just once would have been nice."

She smiled gently. "It's hard, isn't it? Being in a relationship with a Kaiba."

"Sometimes I think Mokuba would have been a better boyfriend."

Sarah giggled. "From what I've heard, Mr. Kaiba did everything he could to give Mr. Mokuba a normal childhood…I guess it cost him his own normalcy."

"Not his common sense," Yugi groaned.

"I've never seen him try so hard at anything," Sarah said, and Yugi looked at her questioningly. "To make things work…with you."

Yugi felt giddy. "Really?"

She nodded. "Anyone who said Seto Kaiba was easy to please was lying. He's quick to anger, he yells and screams and throwing stuff at people…I've had more danger as a secretary than any other job I've ever had."

"He's not that bad," Yugi laughed.

"Not anymore…not since you."

"I've known him for so long I guess I forget how he used to be…"

Sarah smiled. "He used to be a big, huge egotistical jerk. Now he's just less of one."

"Sometimes he makes things so hard…" Yugi sighed. "It's impossible to know what's going on in his head. I wish I knew the real Seto."

Shaking her head, Sarah said, "You are the only one in the whole world who knows the _real _Seto Kaiba. To the rest of us, he's just a business man to look up to…but to you, he's…well…" She just smiled again. "I can say without a doubt, no one ever expected him to have children. Or a long-term boyfriend."

Yugi sighed again. "I forget how much he has to try."

"But I think that because he's even willing to try, you've got to hold on to him as tight as you can."

Smiling gently, Yugi nodded and stood up. "Thanks," he said. "For listening."

She nodded and watched him return to his own office and shut the door softly. She rocked in her chair slightly, thinking how glad she was Seto had Yugi. If she couldn't make the older man happy, then at least someone like Yugi Moto could.

Nearing the end of the work day, Yugi started to feel a bit woozy. He felt cold and had chills, and when he got home, he found that he had a slight temperature. He wasn't too worried, however. He figured it was seasonal allergies plaguing him and that it would be gone by morning.

After cooking dinner—mac and cheese—because by then, he was feeling a bit more sick, he put the baby to bed and then read Aemi a story until her eyes closed for the night. By the time he dropped down into his bed, he felt drained.

**A/N:I haven't gotten any comments…if I should continue with this story, someone please let me know. I have through chapter 8 written so far, and I'll post those…but it's at a big cliff hanger. As of right now, though, I won't write anymore unless I know at least one person is reading it.**


	6. Chapter 6

SIX

Yugi slept through the alarm the next morning and was awakened by Aemi close to nine o'clock. She told him that Kyo had been crying and had woken her up. Stumbling to his feet, Yugi hurried to get the baby and rocked him until his tears were gone. He couldn't believe he'd slept so long, or that they were an hour late on the schedule.

"Grab your backpack," Yugi commanded Aemi as he dressed the baby. "We're in a hurry."

She did as she was told and met Yugi by the door before looking at him with squinted eyes. "Are you okay, papa?" she asked.

"I'm fine, why?"

"It's just…you look…" She stuck out her tongue to one side, trying to explain that he looked ill.

"I'm fine," Yugi reiterated. "Just tired."

He did not feel _fine _but he didn't want to worry Aemi. He packed them into the car and then had the driver rush to Aemi's school, where he walked her inside, had to sign her in because she was late, and then got a lecture on the importance of being on time from the front attendant. When he was allowed to leave, he felt worse than before.

Dropping Kyo off took longer than expected because the daycare was doing a fire drill when they arrived. Yugi had to wait until the children went back inside before he could check Kyo in, and by that time he was feeling seriously sick.

He could not call out from work, however, because Seto was not there to take care of things. The vice president had to step in when the president was unavailable. No matter how sick he felt.

As soon as Yugi stepped off the elevator, Sarah looked up and grimaced. "You look like hell," she said, and Yugi sighed.

"I feel it," he nodded.

"There's a call on line one for you," Sarah called after him. "It's Mr. Kaiba."

Yugi nodded and got himself situated at his desk before picking up the call. "Seto?" he asked.

"It's me," Seto confirmed. "I just landed in Domino City."

"Oh," Yugi sighed.

"Is everything alright?" Seto asked, worry in his voice.

"Everything's fine," Yugi tried. "I got up late today…The kids were late, too."

"You sound…" Seto began, but he didn't finish.

"I'm okay, just a bit under the weather. Nothing to worry about," Yugi said, this time he put as much energy into his voice as he could.

There was silence on the other end for a moment. "If you're ill, you should go home," Seto finally said. His voice was soft.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Yugi responded. "Just a bug. I'll be better by the time you get back." Seto did not sound convinced, but Yugi was not giving him the change to worry. "How are things going over there?"

Sighing into his end, Seto said, "It was just an honest mistake. These people are idiots." His voice was back to being hard again. "They misread an entire line of promotional data sent to them, and that's what caused this whole mess."  
"How do you know?"

"I was talking with Takahiro on the phone…He told me that's what happened. I'm just going to stay to look over everything to make sure they're doing it right before heading home. I mean, I did make this long flight for nothing."  
"Take you time," Yugi smiled. "You could use the break."

The line was silent again, and as much as Yugi hated silences, he felt too sick to break it. He could hear Seto getting antsy on the other end as well. "How are…the kids?" Seto asked, and it was a first.

"You've only been gone twenty hours, Seto," Yugi reminded him. "Kyo did not learn to walk yet and Aemi has not won a Nobel Peace prize."

He could almost see Seto smirking to himself.

"I miss you," Yugi said, sighing deeply. "I miss…" he had to stop, because he felt a strange abundance of saliva in his mouth and an acidic taste in the back of his throat. "I have go to," he said quickly. "I'll…" he didn't get to finish before he'd thrown up into his waste basket beside his desk.

"Yugi?" Seto questioned. "Are you alright?"

"I have to go," Yugi said, and he hung up just before he heaved again.

When he felt strong enough to walk, he called a driver to meet him in the parking garage as soon as possible and then headed towards the elevator. He let Sarah know she could go home early, because he was ill and needed to rest. While waiting for his driver to pick him up, he made arrangements for Mai to pick up the kids.

When he slid into the back seat of the black transporter, he groaned and rested his head on the other cushion where Seto should have been sitting.

"Take me home," he begged the driver, and he felt sick again as the car began to move.

His phone ran twice, but he didn't answer it. He wanted to just bury himself into his bed sheets and nurse himself back to health. Mai had offered to keep the kids for the night, but he had declined. He didn't feel comfortable being away from Kyo for so long, and Aemi had never been away from home before. He knew he'd feel better after a bit of rest.

When the driver pulled up to his flat, he stumbled out and just barely made it to the bathroom before he threw up again. He grabbed a cloth and wiped his mouth before resting his head against the toilet, not even caring if it was clean or not. He felt like dying.

Finally feeling that he was able, he stood up slowly and clung to the wall as he made his way to the bedroom. He dropped down into bed and groaned as he shut his eyes tightly against the light. He just wanted to…he sighed. He wasn't sure what he wanted. Seto was too busy to take care of him and he didn't have any friends who lived nearby besides Joey and Mai. And Téa. But he didn't want any of them to see him in his present condition.

When he'd worn his mind into a worry, he finally was too exhausted to keep his eyes open and he fell asleep. He had bizarre dreams until Mai came at seven to bring the kids home.

He struggled out of bed and greeted her with a weak smile.

"You look awful," she said, putting her hand on his head. "You're burning up!"

Joey was behind her holding Kyo and he looked concerned as well. "She's right, man. You need to go to a doctor."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Yugi shook his head.

After a little bit of a debate, Mai and Joey finally left and Yugi sat down in the living room after laying the baby on his belly for "tummy time." Aemi began watching a cartoon on the television and Yugi found it hard to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to fall asleep while Kyo was on his belly, so he picked him up and readied a bottle to put him to sleep.

His legs dragged the two of them up the stairs and into Kyo's nursery where Yugi rocked him in the rocker until the baby's eyes were drooping low. He put him in the crib and then went back down to see if Aemi was hungry for a bite before her bath. She ate leftovers and then hurried up to the bath Yugi had drawn. He sat on the edge of the tub while she tried to wash her own hair.

"Need some help?" he smiled gently when she struggled to put the shampoo in her hair. He scrubbed it in and then sprayed it out with water.

When she was done bathing, he wrapped her in a towel and then helped her dress in her pajamas. When she was finally tucked into bed, he began reading a story, but he could barely keep his eyes open and instead just sang to her.

"Papa?" she said nearing the end of his song.

"Yes?"  
"When is Papa Seto coming home?"  
"Hopefully by Friday…" Yugi sighed.

"Why did he go away?"

"He had a business trip to fix something."

"Oh," she said. "I wish he would tuck me in."

"How about we call him tomorrow to say good morning?"  
She nodded and then yawned. "I miss Papa Seto when he's not here."

"Me too," Yugi agreed. He kissed her forehead and then stood up. "Sleep well," he said. He left the door open a crack and groaned to himself.

He was too tired to do anything besides drop onto the bed—face first—and close his eyes.

Days passed and Yugi continued to get sicker until he was no longer able to get out of bed. Téa had come over to help with the kids while he rested, but sleeping off the virus didn't seem to be helping. Yugi refused to be taken to the hospital and he refused to allow anyone to tell Seto he was ill. He didn't want the older man to worry about him.

Téa had made breakfast tea for him after she'd dropped the kids off at school and daycare and fluffed his pillow so he could sit up.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine," he lied easily. He'd been saying it since the first day of his illness and it wasn't so hard to lie anymore.

"You look awful," Téa said honestly. "I wish you'd let me take you to the doctor…"

"I'm fine," he groaned. "I'll be better tomorrow."

"You said that yesterday."

"I feel way better than I did yesterday," he lied again.

It was getting harder and harder to decide when to tell the truth. He didn't want her to know he was in awful pain, his muscles killing him, and his throat burning from the acid he'd been throwing up. He hadn't eaten since his first day being ill and he was sickly pale. He knew he needed to eat to keep up his strength, but he couldn't keep anything down and he hated throwing up.

"Téa?" Yugi asked. "Who's getting the kids?"

"Mai is."

Yugi sighed. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of you guys…"

"Yugi, I've known you forever, and not once have you ever asked for my help in something like this. It's time I repaid all the times you took care of me. That's what friends do."  
Yugi managed to smile. "I guess…" he sighed.

"Now let me take care of you. You have to eat something or else you're not going to get better."

"I need to call Seto," Yugi sighed. "He's supposed to be getting back on Tuesday."

"I thought he was going to be back yesterday," Téa said.

"His trip got extended…again."

"Why?"

"I have no idea…He's trying to make sure everything goes right with the release of the new products in Domino City."

Téa grabbed Yugi's cell phone from the table and handed it to him. "I'll go…do something else…" she said and she sauntered out of the room.

Yugi dialed Seto and waited until he picked up on the fifth ring. They talked for nearly an hour—about everything, work, the kids, Yugi's health. Yugi could hear the worry in Seto's voice when he asked how he felt, and he did his best to make himself sound healthier than he was.

"I'll come home if you need me," Seto said, and Yugi couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"You'd do that for me?"  
"Should I not?"

"No, stay there. Finish work. We'll see you on Tuesday." Seto sighed, and Yugi tried to change the subject. "I miss you, by the way."

"I'm bored," Seto said.

"I wish I could help with that…" Yugi said, trying to be seductive. He heard Seto chuckle, so he knew he'd failed in the attempt.

"I have to go," Seto finally said. "I'll be home on Tuesday."

"Take you time," Yugi reminded him.

When the two hung up, Yugi had to close his eyes again. The call had wiped him out.

Téa had left to meet Mokuba for dinner after Yugi insisted she go. It was officially Tuesday, and Seto was not coming back. His trip had been extended again. Yugi had found a way to lie to everyone and make them think he was feeling much better than before, and though it made him feel awful, he was glad he was home alone with the kids again.

He missed taking care of his kids on his own. It was nice to have help, but it was even nicer to see their smiling faces.

Except, at that moment, their faces were not smiling.

Yugi's hands were pressed against the side of the toilet as he vomited his lunch into it. Kyo was screaming in his infant carrier next to him, begging to be let out, but Yugi had been sitting the floor for over ten minutes. Aemi watched from the bathroom door with worried eyes. She handed Yugi a cloth when he asked for one, but otherwise she didn't move.

Yugi groaned and wiped his mouth once more before he unbuckled Kyo and picked him up. He had to pat the baby's back for several minutes to get him to stop sniffling before he managed to make it to his feet and then carefully laid down in his bed. Aemi followed and sat by his feet.

"Papa?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, honey. Just a bit sick."

"You look _really _sick," she said.

"I'll be better tomorrow," he said as his eyes drooped low. "Don't let me fall asleep," he pleaded, but he fell asleep anyway.

"Yug? Hey, Yugi, wake up." Yugi's eyes opened and he looked around, surprised to see Joey's face inches from his own. "You're alive," Joey said. "We were worried!"

"W-where's Kyo?" Yugi managed to ask, worry coursing through him when he did not see the baby in the bed.

"Mai's got him. She and Aemi are downstairs, man."

Yugi sighed. "I'll get up…"

"No, you stay put. Mai wants to take your temperature."

"Joey, I'm fine," he insisted. Everyone was making a bigger deal out of his illness than needed.

Joey left the room and Mai entered after him. She had a thermometer in her hands and wouldn't take no for an answer. He closed his eyes for just a moment, and when he woke up he was in Joey's car.

"…Joey? Where are we going?"

"The hospital, Yug. You've got a pretty high fever."

"What about…the kids?" he managed to ask.

"Mai's gonna stay with them 'til we get back."

"I don't want her to have to…" he said, his voice growing quieter.

"She loves 'em," Joey insisted. "You need to go to the doc."

"I'm fine," Yugi muttered. He closed his eyes again and slept hard. He was barely awakened by the sound of Joey's breaks squealing and then he felt weightless—almost perfect. He smiled before drifting off again.

When Yugi opened his eyes, he was magically at the hospital. He wasn't sure how much time had passed or why he suddenly felt…achy. He wanted badly to understand what he was seeing, but everything was blurred around him. He could her voices talking to him, but they sounded far away.

"Yug, hey, Yug," Joey said, and Yugi recognized the voice. "Are you in there?"

Yugi tried to nod, but his neck felt stiff.

"Hold on, buddy. The doctor's still checking you out. It was a pretty crazy crash."

Yugi squinted, trying to understand. Crash? What crash? He had to close his eyes again, and the voices became whispers until they faded away.

"…called Kaiba a few hours ago. I figured he'd want to know." Joey was talking and Yugi didn't like the sound of his voice. "That idiot blames me for what happened!"

"Well…it was your fault. You ran through the light," Mai responded.

"Yugi passed out!" Joey defended. "And anyway, what's it matter? We're both still alive."

"Poor guy," Mai said, and Yugi felt a hand land next to him. "I'm just so glad you're okay…"

"Takes more than a Jetta to kill Joey Wheeler!" Joey boasted.

Yugi tried to open his eyes and sit up at the same time. The whole room swam before him and he dropped back down into the bed.

"Hey, hey," Mai's gentle voice said. "It's alright. You're at the hospital."

"W-why?" he demanded hoarsely.

"There was an accident…But you're alright. Just pretty bruised up."

"Joey?" he asked.

"He's fine. Not a scratch."

"Hey, I got one right here!" Joey put in, but Mai shoved him away playfully.

"Where are the kids?" Yugi asked in a panic. He couldn't remember if they had been with him.

"They're both fine. Téa is with them."

Yugi sighed. "When can I go home?"

Mai smiled. "The doctor wants to keep you for a couple nights, Yugi. You're not just bruised up, but you're battling double pneumonia as well."

"Pnumonia?" he said thoughtfully. "I'll be okay."

"We know you will," Joey smiled. "But leave everything to us. Between Téa and Mai, the kids will be just fine."

Yugi blinked a long blink and almost fell asleep again before reopening his eyes. "S-Seto?" he asked.

"Kaiba's on his way back," Mai said. "He'll be here soon, I bet."

"Why?"

"Joey called him when you went under for surgery."

"Surgery?" Yugi said, sounding worried.

"The doctor said not to worry—it was just some light internal bleeding. He patched you up."

As if on cue, the doctor walked into the room and Mai and Joey left. Yugi kept his yes on the doctor as he walked around the room, looking at X-rays, before bringing his eyes to meet Yugi's.

"You're one sick young man," the doctor said. "You're lucky to be alive at all."

"So I'm okay to go home with some medicine?" Yugi asked quickly.

"I am recommending that you stay," the doctor said. And then he left the room, as if his recommendation was final.

Yugi groaned loudly. He could not afford to be sick. But he also could not afford to be dead.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys. I have decided to continue the story! The chapters will not be coming out as fast as they were before, but I should get one up every week or every other week…I foresee about ten or twelve chapters total…maybe more.


	7. Chapter 7

SEVEN

When Seto arrived, Yugi's eyes were wide and worried. Seto, however, didn't seem worried about the same thing Yugi was. When he entered the room, it cleared quickly and the door closed behind Téa.

Seto groaned and sat down beside Yugi's bed, grabbing his hand in his own. Blue eyes met Yugi's own violet ones and they held each other's gaze for several moments.

"How are you?" Seto finally asked. "You look like hell."

Yugi managed to smile. "I feel better than I look."

Seto did not smile back. "Joey said you were dying," he said. "I came back expecting the worst."

Rolling his eyes, Yugi sat up and situated himself. "I'm fine. Just pneumonia and a car crash. It happens all the time."

"Why didn't you tell me you were this sick?" Seto finally asked. "I'd have come back sooner."

"I…I didn't want you to worry about me."

"Well I was. I was told you were dying."  
Yugi rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. Just pneumonia."

"You should have told me," Seto said, and his hand tightened around Yugi's. "I was…worried."

"I'm sorry…"

Seto's eyes were gentle. "I need you to be well," he said. "And if you're sick I need you to be honest with me…I was…." he trailed off.

Yugi tried to smile, but he was too tired. He managed to mumble before he fell asleep again.

Seto sighed and rested his hand with Yugi's until his arm went to sleep, and then he managed to slip his finger's from Yugi's sleeping grip. He walked to the window and looked out for a while before he sighed again.

Did Yugi really keep himself from the doctor because of _him_? Seto's mind just couldn't fathom it. The younger man had said he didn't want him to worry…but, about _what_? It was just an illness and a bit of bruising. With medication, he'd be better in a week…what was there to worry about?

Seto sat back in his chair and watched Yugi sleep. He wasn't sure at what point he had fallen in love with the younger man…but every part of him wanted to admit that yes, he, Seto Kaiba, was in love with Yugi. Was it when they'd first met, when their eyes had first locked? Was it the night Seto had lost his seventh—and final—duel against Yugi? Was it when Aemi was born, or Kyo? He wasn't sure…but he knew he was, for the first time in his life, in love with someone.

He had to wipe the giddy smile off his own face by shaking his head and trying to collect his thoughts again. He hadn't ever told anyone he loved them, and in all reality, he hadn't exactly said to Yugi, either. He's said he _thought_ he loved him. But what every bone in his body wanted to scream from every roof top was the exact opposite—he _knew_ he loved Yugi. He knew it, and he wanted everyone else to know it.

A nurse entered the room just as a strange euphoric feeling came over Seto. He was about to shout to the world, but the feeling died as soon as he was interrupted.

"Are you Mr. Kaiba?" the woman asked, and he nodded. "I was asked to tell you that Mr. Moto's parents are here to see him, and they would like to see him alone."

Seto's eyes widened. "His…parents?"

"Yes, sir. They are waiting outside."

Seto squinted his eyes. In all the years he had known Yugi, he had never once met his parents, nor heard Yugi talk about them. He had just assumed they were dead.

Standing up and walking slowly out of the room, he was surprised to see a normal looking woman dressed in normal looking clothing and a large, gruff man—not unlike Gozaburo Kaiba—standing by her side. There was no doubt in Seto's eyes that they were Yugi's parents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Moto," Seto said, forcing himself to be polite. "We haven't met before."

Mr. Moto stared Seto down for a moment and he found himself feeling very small. He was reminded of Gozaburo when he would put down every idea he'd ever had. Mrs. Moto's eyes were gentle, but she kept quiet as her husband studied Seto.

"So you're the one, huh?" the man demanded, and Seto was surprised to see that he spoke without an accent.

"Excuse me?" Seto said when he got a chance.

The man glared at him before completely ignoring him and entering Yugi's room. Seto stood outside, stunned beyond belief, and waited for them to come out. After a half hour had passed and they did not return, he went to find something to do.

He sat in the hospital cafeteria awkwardly and sipped cold tea from a Styrofoam cup. He didn't know what else to do. Yugi's parents had given him a very bad feeling and he couldn't help but wonder what they were doing to their son.

Yugi had never once spoken of his parents. Ever. It wasn't just that they hadn't come up in ten years worth of conversation—Seto knew he avoided the topic of his parents. He'd always thought they had died in some accident, but Yugi never seemed too stressed about it because he didn't visit their graves or have photos of them.

Seto stood up to throw his mostly un-sipped tea in the trash and spotted Téa across the cafeteria. He put aside his dislike for her and approached slowly. When he sat down across from her, she looked up with a questioning gaze.

"Hi?" Téa said.

"Who are Yugi's parents?" Seto asked quickly, his voice low.

"Um…" Téa blinked. "His parents…?" Her face grew redder and she seemed angry. "They're awful people. They abandoned him when he was just a kid—that's how he ended up in Domino City with his grandpa."

"Why are they here, then?" Seto asked.

Téa's eyes widened. "Here…?"

"I was booted out of the room by them."

Téa got up and ran out of the cafeteria, leaving Seto to look after her. He followed after a moment and headed back to Yugi's room where he saw a commotion going on outside the door.

"…you just come back here and act like nothing's happened!" Téa was yelling.

"Young lady, you'd better keep your place," Yugi's father growled.

"You keep your place old man!"

Seto was shocked to see Téa's reaction to the man. She was almost as protective of Yugi as he was.

"Please don't fight," Seto heard Yugi groan from the hospital bed, and he started to go to his side. Instead, he was pushed backwards by Yugi's father's large hands.

"You stay out," the man commanded, his eyes locking with Seto's.

"Excuse me?" Seto demanded.

"You're the reason for this whole mess."

Seto squinted. He couldn't understand, at all, not even for a second, how any of this was his fault. "He was in an accident," Seto said, refraining from cursing or throwing the nearest object at Yugi's father. "An accident I did not cause, nor was I around to see it."

"He's here because of you," the man reiterated.

"I don't have time for this, old man," Seto said, getting angry. He had more of a right to sit by Yugi's side than anyone else there.

"You should just leave," the woman said, she Seto's eyes snapped to her. She was standing against the wall with her eyes on the floor. She was too quiet to do any harm.

"I am going in," Seto said.

"You will not," Yugi's father insisted.

Seto looked past the man and tried to see Yugi in the bed. He saw Yugi's wide eyes and the need to make everything right. Seto just wanted to protect him from the man who was causing obvious discomfort.

"I have every right to enter," Seto said.

"Legally, no you don't," the man said. "We've hired a lawyer who should be here any moment."

"For what?" Téa stepped in, her anger very clear.

"To question the sanity of our son."

Silence followed the comment and Seto found himself squinting again. "What?" he finally said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The man almost sneered. "His state of mind has become the talk of the town. Of course, I think his mind has only been polluted by _you_."

"Yugi is twenty-six years old. You cannot treat him like a child."

"But he is a child," the man said, "_my_ child, that is."

Seto's fingers tightened into a fist. "You don't even know him."

"It's come time for Yugi to take over the family business, and as my only son, I won't take no for an answer."

"And you're expecting what? You'll have him declared mentally unstable, and then he'll be released into the custody of his next of kin—which is _me_," Seto said, crossing his arms. "And then I'll just counter sue to question your intelligence and have _you_ locked away."

"You're just a little boy with too much money, Seto Kaiba." The man spat his name. "Yugi's next of kin is me or his mother. You don't even have a place on his contact list. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, you are just his employer, and therefore legally have no claim on him."

"That's crazy!" Téa said. "Seto and Yugi are—"

Yugi's father cut her off. "What are they?"

"They're…in a relationship!" Téa said.

"Are they?" the man laughed. "Is this true, Kaiba? Are you in a relationship with my son?"

Seto stared the man down. "Yes," he said without hesitation. Thoughts of what he'd been feeling that morning ran through his head. He _loved _Yugi. Didn't that count for something?

The man laughed again. "You've deluded yourself as well. There is nothing more than teenage experimentation. Yugi will learn to love his fiancé Aribelle."

_But he loves me!_ Seto wanted to shout. He didn't even register the word _fiancé._ "We have two children together," he said instead. "Aemi and Kyo." He was trying to reassure himself. He didn't know much about the law, but he was fairly certain that having children made them at least a little bit responsible for each other.

"Last I checked, Yugi has no biological children, Mr. Kaiba. He did not birth nor father those…brats, and his name is not on the birth certificate."

Seto's eyes widened. He was certainly confused.

"Now, you can either leave on your own, or we can call security and let them know you are harassing our son."

"Like hell," Seto said, and he took another step towards the door.

"His belongings will be collected from your house this afternoon, Kaiba, and he will be coming home with us."

"Yugi," Seto called into the room. "What is going on?"

Yugi's eyes were wide. He had no idea what to do. He was terrified of his father, and even more afraid of the threat he'd been given before Téa had arrived. His father had said he'd tear Seto's life apart and he'd have the children removed from his care and put in foster homes. He'd said he would do whatever it took to bring Yugi back home, even if that meant destroying everything Yugi had ever loved.

"Back up, boy," his father growled to Seto, and Seto took another step. This time, the man grabbed him and pulled his arm behind his back. He twisted until Seto gasped in pain. "Are you going to leave?" the man demanded.

"No!"

Twinsting more until the group heard a _pop_, the man laughed and Seto groaned in pain. His shoulder had been dislocated.

"Stop, dad! Please stop!" Yugi begged from the bed. He was trying to pull the IV out of his arm, and after he'd done that he wobbled on his feet until he could run, tearing open a set of stitches on his hip before collapsing on the ground next to Seto. "Please just stop…" he said.

"Get back in that bed, boy," Yugi's father said, attempting to grab him. Yugi dodged him and them wrapped his arms around Seto's waist. "Please, please stop…" he begged again. His thoughts weren't coherent enough to make sense and his head was swimming. "Seto will go…he'll go home. Please don't hurt him!"

"Yugi…" Seto said, his voice strained from the pain in his shoulder. "You want me to go?"

"I don't want you to get hurt," Yugi said. Tears were coming down his cheeks.

"What about you?" he asked quietly. "If they take you away…"

"I'll be okay," Yugi promised. "Please, just go home and I'll call you." He looked up at Téa. "All of you, go home. I'll be okay."

Seto looked at Yugi and saw how desperate he was. He was too weak to fight anymore, and his skin was so pale and bruised…Seto didn't want to cause any more trouble.

"Fine," Seto said. "I'll go, but you call me as soon as…Just call me. I don't care what time it is."

"I will, I promise."  
Seto didn't care who was there to see, he pressed his lips against Yugi's to show that they were together, that they belonged together, and that he wouldn't let them be torn apart.

When he'd managed to get to his feet, a nurse came running down the hall yelling for Yugi to get back in his bed and for everyone else to disperse. Seto watched for a moment before Téa touched his arm and they walked out of the hospital together. He looked back once more.

"He'll be okay," Téa said. "He's strong."

Seto wasn't so sure, and he didn't believe that Yugi would be alive when his parents got done with him. He pulled out his phone and called his lawyer.

A/N: I've got through the ending written now, so the last few chapters should be up soon


	8. Chapter 8

EIGHT

"Papa?" Aemi said, and Seto looked in her direction. "Where is Papa Yugi?"

"He's at the hospital." Seto's voice was gentle, though he didn't feel like being gentle at all. He felt like screaming and kicking things.

"When will he come home?" she asked.

"I don't know."

Aemi settled into her bed and her eyes furrowed. "Why?"

"Why what?" Seto said, and his voice sounded almost harsh.

"Why don't you know?"

Seto's fists clenched in his hands and his face was strained, but he kept calm in front of Aemi. He didn't want to worry or scare her. "I'll find out tomorrow," he said, and then he stood up. "Get some sleep. You have school in the morning."

He walked to the door and flicked the light switch off and had almost completely closed the door before Aemi spoke up. "Papa Yugi is coming home, right?" she asked, her voice very quiet. Seto had almost missed it.

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "I will bring him home."

With that, he left the door open a crack and went to check on the baby. Kyo had fallen asleep in the car ride home from Mai's house, but he was wide awake in his crib. He was cooing gently and slobbering down his chin—he had no idea something was wrong.

Seto reached into the crib and trailed his finger down the side of Kyo's face, surprised when the infant grabbed onto it with his own hand. The baby cooed again and smiled—probably from gas—before letting go. Seto retracted his hand and stared down at Kyo.

Aemi was almost three when Yugi decided he wanted another baby in the house. The surrogate mother who had birthed Aemi was located and she was more than happy to help. The preparations took mere weeks, and to Seto, it seemed that he had gone to the donation center only a day earlier before hearing the news that the surrogate was in fact pregnant.

Why Yugi had only wanted to use Seto's genes, he wasn't sure. And it had been the most awkward thing ever for him to enter the donation center and to hand over the white substance in a container to a complete stranger for processing. His face had glowed red the entire time.

But five months into the pregnancy, when Yugi had bounced home from an appointment with the surrogate, proclaiming that they were having a boy and his name would be Seto Kaiba II, Seto had become…almost excited. Aemi was wonderful and perfect, and with a boy, they would finally have a complete family, and maybe then Yugi could be completely happy.

Seto Kyo Kiaba was born two weeks early, which was two weeks less than Seto needed to prepare for the birth of his son. He had spent days pacing in his office, terrified of what a new baby could do to their relationship. Thoughts of running away again entered his mind, but in the end, he stayed.

And now…where had it gotten him?

Everything was falling apart.

Kyo began to whimper, so Seto picked him up and cradled him in his arms. He sat back into the rocking chair and sighed.

Seto had never been alone with Kyo for so long—but it had been officially four hours since he'd picked the kids up from Mai's house and had taken them home. He had done everything he'd watched Yugi do a dozen times before, but something still felt wrong. He could sense that Kyo suspected the same, because he was wide awake still…waiting for _Yugi_ to rock him to sleep.

It was nearing midnight before Seto put the sleeping baby into his crib and then returned to the rocking chair. He didn't want to leave, just in case Kyo woke up in the middle of the night. He had to be there for the infant, because no one else was.

_"Last I checked, Yugi has no biological children…" _Seto glared into the darkness of the bedroom. What did Yugi's father know about his son's life? From what Seto had gathered from Téa, Yugi's parents had left him at a young age to travel the world. He had been the child they needed to carry on the Moto name, but he had also become a burden on their carefree lifestyle. They had dropped him at his grandfather's house and hadn't spoken to him in nearly twenty years.

Seto spent the whole night staring into the darkness. Kyo awakened every few hours, but Seto was ready with a bottle or a clean diaper or just to hold him for comfort.

This was usually Yugi's job, and Seto could tell Kyo noticed a difference, but after the second time the baby had woken up, he was used to Seto being there.

At some point, he fell asleep in the rocker, and when he woke up for the last time, it was seven-thirty and he realized they were running late.

Kyo was still sleeping, so he hurried into Aemi's room and helped her get dressed before pouring a bowl of cereal. He then went back up the stairs to get Kyo ready, changing a messy diaper, and then popped a bottle into his mouth as he tried to hurry Aemi along.

The driver was waiting outside by the time Seto made it out and he had the man take them to Aemi's school first. He walked her inside, got the "being on time is imperative" lecture, and then hurried to take Kyo to his daycare.

It was the first time he had ever taken the infant inside before and he wasn't exactly sure what to do. He unbuckled Kyo from his seat and carried him inside. When entered the lobby, several eyes turned towards him.

"You must be Seto Kaiba," the nearest woman said. "I'm Kyo's caretaker…We were about to call!" she laughed.

"Late morning," Seto muttered. He still had Kyo safely in his hands and something strange came over him. He didn't…want to let go.

"Where is Mr. Moto?" the woman asked.

Seto swallowed. "He's ill," he said finally. It wasn't technically a lie.

"Oh, well you send him my best. Will you be picking Kyo up?" Seto nodded. "I'll just take him now," she said, and he hesitated for a second before mentally cursing himself. He handed the baby over and watched as he seemed satisfied in the woman's arms. "We'll see you around six then."

Seto nodded again and watched the woman disappear into the child area at the daycare. He stood in the same spot for close to a minute before turning on his heel and leaving.

"To work, Mr. Kaiba?" the driver asked.

"No, 2134 Vancouver Street," he said.

The driver started off shortly after. Seto wanted to see his lawyer immediately—he wanted to talk face to face and discuss the options. He knew Yugi's parents couldn't do what they were doing, and he also knew that no court in the world would rule in the Moto's favor. It was just insanity.

He touched his phone in his pocket, but decided against making a futile call. He'd tried Yugi at least ten times every hour since the night before, but it had been answered only once by his mother insisting he never call again. Her voice had been gentle but adamant. And since, Seto had not called anymore.

When the car arrived at the lawyer's office, Seto got out and told the driver to park, insisting it wouldn't take long. He refused to let this scandal plague more than an hour of his time.

He entered the office and didn't bother signing in and he certainly didn't stop at the front desk to let the secretary know he was there. He just walked through his lawyer's door and dropped himself into a chair.

"Mr. Kaiba!" the lawyer said, smiling worriedly. "Is everything okay?"

"I need some legal advice, Tom" Seto said quietly.

"Something wrong with the contracts?"

"No. This is a personal matter."

"Yes, of course," the man said, his eyes wide. Seto Kaiba had never been in his office before—all work was done over the phone usually. Their trip to Domino City had been the third time Tom had ever seen the man in over ten years. "What can I do for you?"

"Yugi's parents are trying to have him declared mentally incapable—which is just ridiculous. They have taken over and won't allow me to see him. It is their intention to bring him back with them when they leave."

"And on what grounds are they having him declared?"

Seto's jaw tightened. "They said he is not capable of making decisions because he is with me."

"I'm not sure I understand…"

"They said his judgment is impaired because he has a life with me…"

"Mr. Kaiba, I'm not understanding…"

Seto groaned. "Because he's gay. They're calling it a mental illness."

The lawyer's mouth opened a few times before he squinted. "This sounds more like controlling parents than a legal issue, Mr. Kaiba. No court in the world would rule in their favor…"

"That's what I said."

"I'm not sure what I can do about this…" Tom said. "We can prove their case is riddled with faults, but it could take months for a court to see a case as frivolous as this."

"Could we not counter sue?" Seto asked. "For even attempting to bring a frivolous case?"

"We could…but I'll have to do some digging. If you'll give me until tomorrow, Mr. Kaiba, I will know a little bit more about this."

"Fine," Seto said, and he stood up.

"Can I just ask…what are you trying to get out of this?"  
"I just want Yugi to make his own decisions…"

Tom sat quietly for a second. "Have you…thought that perhaps this is what he wants?"

Seto's eyes narrowed. "This is not what he wants."

After the initial shock of what Tom has said wore off, Seto slammed the door and exited the building. The driver was waiting in the parking lot for him, but Seto didn't give him time to open the door for him. He climbed in and slammed the door behind himself.

_This is not what he wants, _he said. He frowned. _It's not…is it?_

Seto pressed a button on the door next to him and the window barrier between he and the driver went up. He then took out his cell phone and stared at it for several moments before tapping on Yugi's name and pressing call. He let it ring and ring and ring until the voicemail picked up.

"Leave your message after the beep," the automated voice said, and Seto almost hung up.

He took a breath and waited three full seconds before finding the words. "This isn't what you want…is it?" he asked, his voice almost cracking. "You don't want to leave…do you? Please, Yugi, you have to tell me…If this is what you want," his voice hardened, "just tell me." And then he hung up.

He wasn't sure if Yugi was getting is calls or if his parents were just deleting them, but he knew he had to try. His chest hurt, and it was a pain he'd never felt before. It wasn't like the time he'd left when Aemi was born, or the time Yugi had left because he wanted to live outside Domino City…those times he knew they would be together again. This time…he wasn't sure.

Part of him wondered if Tom was right. Was Yugi tired of their relationship? Did he want something else…something…more? Was this all a plan cooked up by he and his parents…as an _escape?_

Seto was tortured by the thoughts for hours. He was terrified—a feeling he did not know well. He had thought things were going so well! Why would Yugi want out? Why would he make plans to leave him? Kyo had only been born two months before—surely Yugi would have left before that! It wasn't a decision that could be made in a day, he was certain. If Yugi wanted out, it was a long time coming.

He sat at his desk just tapping his pen nervously. He didn't know what else to do. Usually, Yugi would make some plans with some company to sponsor a new product, and then Seto himself would go to a meeting with the CEO and make official contracts. Of course, before Yugi had come into his life, Seto had done that work himself because he didn't trust anyone else to do it. Now, though…he just wanted to look out the window at the sun heading for the horizon.

"Everything okay, Mr. Kaiba?" Sarah asked when she entered his office.

"Fine," he said curtly.

"Where is Yugi today?" she asked. "He was sick, and I heard about the accident…"

"He's still sick," Seto said. His eyes never left the sunset.

"Oh…Well, when you see him, tell I him I hope he gets better soon."

Seto didn't respond, and Sarah took that as her cue to leave. He kept his eyes carefully occupied, because he felt something pulling at him and he was almost sure it was tears. And that scared him. He hadn't cried since he was a child, and he refused to cry over something so…trivial.

He blinked hard. _Trivial?_ his mind shouted. _Yugi is not trivial! _He had to take a deep breath. His eyes darkened and his brow creased. How could he have even thought such a thing?

His pen tapped faster.

"Mr. Kaiba?" came Sarah's voice on his machine. "You have a call on line two."

"Who is it?"

"Aemi's school."

Seto picked up immediately. "Hello?" he said, concern in his voice.

"Mr. Kaiba? Hi, it's Miss Vale, Aemi's teacher."

"Yes?"

"Is there any way you can come down here to pick her up? She is…not feeling well."

"Is she sick?" Seto demanded, already on his feet.

"No, I don't think so…"

"I'll be right there," he said, and he was out the door in a matter of seconds. He let Sarah know where he was going and then grabbed the keys to the company car—the one that was rarely used because he always had a driver. He sat behind the driver's seat for a moment before tightening his hands on the wheel and then sped off towards Aemi's school.

It wasn't far from his office, about a fifteen minute drive in regular traffic, but he made it there in less ten. He jumped out of the car and rushed inside, finding the front office after a moment of confusion, as he'd only been inside the building once.

"Mr. Kaiba!" a woman behind the front desk said. "Right this way."

He followed her behind the desk and through the office. "Where is Aemi?" he demanded. "Is she hurt?"  
The woman shook her head. "She's been crying since naptime…No one is sure why and she won't speak."

Seto's eyes were visibly perplexed.

"Is this normal for her?" the woman asked, and Seto glared.

"No," he said harshly.

The woman just nodded apologetically and entered a quiet room where Aemi was sitting, alone, with her knees drawn to her chest. Her hair was matted to her face from her tears and her eyes were red and puffy. As soon as Seto entered the room, Aemi got up and threw her arms around him and cried into his shoulder.

He wasn't sure what else to do other than to pat her back, so he did. He couldn't make out her words, but she was speaking so softly and he knew she was saying something.

After several minutes of her just wetting his suit with her tears, he took her shoulders and pushed her away from him gently.

"Aemi," he said, his voice a mixture of stern and worry, "what is wrong?"

Her blue eyes met Seto's and for a moment he thought she was going to start bawling again, but instead she wiped her eyes with her hands and stared up at him.

"Why are you so upset? You've worried everyone—your teachers, me…what's going on?"  
"I'm scared," she said quietly, tears brimming again.

"Of what?"

"A mean boy told me that when his daddy stopped sleeping at home, he never saw him again."

Seto blinked and suddenly understood. He drew Aemi back to his chest and sighed. "Yugi is coming home," he said. "I promise."

"How do you know?" she asked, her voice so quiet he almost couldn't hear.

"Because I'll bring him home myself if I have to."

"Where is he?"  
"He's at the hospital still…He had an accident, remember?" Aemi's eyes looked worried. "But he's fine. Everything is okay. He'll be home soon."

"What if he doesn't want to come home?"  
The question struck him hard, and Seto had to blink back his shock. "Of course he wants to come home!" he insisted. "He's got you, and Kyo, and me all waiting for him."

Aemi's small arms hung loosely around Seto's neck and he tried to be patient. He wasn't used to small children hanging off him and he certainly didn't like it, but he couldn't just push her off again. She needed to be comforted, and since Yugi wasn't there, the burden fell to him.

"Come on," Seto said finally. "We'll go see him."

Aemi's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes."

Her arms tightened and he lifted her off the floor and carried her towards the front of the office again. He had to sign her out, but soon after she was buckled into her safety seat and he was driving a more cautious pace towards the hospital.

He didn't know what he was going to say to Yugi's father, but he was sure the man wouldn't try anything with a little girl watching. He was hoping, at least…And perhaps if Yugi saw Aemi, he wouldn't give up: He'd keep fighting to come home. It was all Seto could hope for.

The highway was crowded from an accident where all North bound traffic was being diverted to the side lanes, which meant the thirty minute drive took over an hour. The whole ride, Aemi said nothing. Her eyes looked out the window innocently and Seto could only guess at what was going through her mind.

"Aemi," he said quietly, and he almost hoped she didn't hear him.

"Yes?" she asked.

He sighed. "Yugi's parents are going to be there…" he said cautiously. "They're not very nice people."

"Why not?"

"They want to take Yugi away from us."

"Why?" she demanded, her voice angry.

"I don't know…but I'm going to find out, and I'm not going to let them do it."

"Please don't let them take papa away from us…" she said, tears filling her eyes again.

"Don't worry," Seto insisted. "I won't let them."

Aemi was quiet for several moments, but Seto could hear quiet sniffling behind his seat. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her—to keep her heart from breaking any more, but he was driving.

"Papa?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Seto's hands tightened on the wheel. He wasn't sure how to respond. He did love her, right? Wasn't it only natural to love one's own flesh and blood? He wanted to repeat the words to her so badly…but something wouldn't let him. Something inside his head told him not to—because saying it meant he had to mean it. And he wasn't sure he did.

Aemi seemed okay with him not answering, because she was back to being quiet.

By the time they reached the hospital Yugi was staying in, nearly an hour had passed in silence. Seto could see that Aemi was visually perplexed and she was terrified of what awaited them at the hospital—was Yugi even alive? Had some mean people taken him away already? Would she ever see him again? But she did not ask any of her questions. She was a patient child.

"Are we going to see papa?" Aemi asked when Seto still hadn't gotten out of the car after more than ten minutes.

"Yeah," Seto sighed. "Lets go."

He got out and then opened the door for Aemi. She hopped out and took his hand, and he could sense she was more worried than she let on. Her palms were sweaty and her brow was creased slightly. As they approached the elevator, she let out a long sigh.

"It'll be fine," Seto said. His voice was quiet and stern. He refused for things to go any other way.

The two of them walked down the long hall together until they reached the recovery wing. When they knocked on Yugi's hospital door, they had to wait several minutes before an elderly woman answered. In the bed was an old man.

"Where's papa?" Aemi asked, and Seto's face grew stone-cold.

He left the room without an explanation to the elderly woman and approached the nurse's station. He put his hands down on the counter and bit his tongue to fight the feeling he felt in his stomach. He was begging that Yugi's parents had not taken him home.

"Where is Yugi Moto?" he asked when someone finally noticed him. "He was in room 11A…"

The woman typed a few things into her computer. "He was moved to the inpatient wing on the third floor," the woman said. "But he is seeing family only."

"We are family," Seto said. "This is his daughter."

The woman smiled down at Aemi before nodding. "Room 3B, then. Should I let him know you're on the way up?"  
"No," Seto said quickly. "We'll surprise him."

"Of course, sir."

With Aemi's hand in his again, Seto strolled to the elevator and only sighed in relief when the doors were closed. His heart was pounding in his chest.

When they reached the third floor, Seto instantly saw that there was security outside one of the doors which he expected to be Yugi's. When he approached the door, he discovered that his first intuition was correct.

"I'm here to see Yugi," Seto said, his voice gruff.

"Name?"

"Seto Kaiba."

The man's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba. I was told not to admit you under any circumstance."

"By whom?"  
"I'm not at liberty to say."

"I'm going in there," Seto said. "And I'm taking my daughter to see her father."

The man's eyes widened again. "I'm…sorry, sir…"

Seto sighed. "I have no problem pushing you aside." He said it with such force that the guard almost believed it. Fear gripped Seto, however. He had not had to fight his own battles in so long…he was worried that he wouldn't be able to do what he thought he could.

"I'll…just ask…" the guard said, opening the door to Yugi's room.

Aemi ran passed him and the guard ran after her, leaving the door open wide. Seto slipped inside the room.

"Papa!" Aemi cried, tears falling down her cheeks. She's just made it to Yugi's bed when the guard grabbed her.

"Get your hands off her!" Seto said, grabbing the guard.

"Seto!" Yugi exclaimed, his eyes wide and confused.

His father was in the corner but on his feet, and his mother was sitting on the other side of Yugi's bed.

Everything was happening at once and it was overwhelming Yugi. He had tears in his eyes, and his arms were outstretched for Aemi. Aemi was sobbing, but she had given up—she knew she was too weak to fight against the guard.

"Everybody stop!" Yugi's father bellowed. And everyone did. The man pointed a finger at Seto. "You, get out. Right now."  
Seto rolled his eyes. "I'm already in here. I'm not leaving."

"Take that…girl out of here as well. She doesn't belong."

Seto's eyes furrowed and he was getting angry.

"And finally," Yugi's father said. "Don't come back."

Their eyes locked and the tension in the room was thick. Seto had no intention of leaving. He would call his own guards, his own lawyers, and his own army if that's what it took.

"Stop, stop," Yugi begged. He struggled out of the bed, putting his feet on the ground weakly and held his arms out to Aemi. She ran to him and the two embraced each other tightly. Tears fell from both of their eyes. "Please, just stop," Yugi said. He pushed himself back into the bed and patted the spot beside him for Aemi to snuggle close.

Silence filled the room, and it was clear that Yugi had no intention of letting Aemi leave without knowing she was allowed to return.

"Dad," he said, his voice hoarse. "This is my daughter. Her name is Aemi."

"You don't have any kids," the man said.

"Yes, I do," Yugi insisted. "She's right here. And Kyo, my son. I have two children. Maybe not biologically, but they are mine. And they are Seto's. They are _ours_."

"Not legally."

"Stop, dad!" Yugi said. "I mean it. Just stop." He took a breath. "I know you want me to work with your company, I know that. But at what point are you going to understand…I'm not coming back home! I live here now, with Seto, and my two children."

His father opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off.

"If I need to, I will file a restraining order against you—I might not have had the resources before, but I certainly do now."

"You wouldn't," his father said.

"I will if you make me."

"I'll just have you declared insane, boy. You know I will."

"I don't care. Do it. I have lawyers, too, dad."

"You're—"

"Stop it," Yugi's mother said. "Please stop. He doesn't want to run the company…" her voice was soft. "He doesn't want to be a part of that life. He never has!"

"You stay out of this," his father said.

"No, you stop this," his mother said, narrowing her eyes. "Look here! We have two grandchildren we've never met! All I wanted was some grandchildren…and here is one, a beautiful baby girl…"

"You can't be serious…after all we did to get here!"

"Dad," Yugi interrupted. "I want you to leave. Now."

"You can't make me."

Yugi's eyes tightened. His fingers reached for the nurse call button and his father understood what he meant to do.

"You can't do this to me…I'm your father!"

"And I'm your son!"

"That used to mean something to me…but now..."

His father slammed the door on his way out and Seto sighed in relief. The guard excused himself so that the room only had Yugi, his mother, Seto, and Aemi inside.

"Mom…" Yugi sighed. He was too tired to keep up appearances. "Please, just…" he sighed again. "Mom, this is Seto Kaiba. He's my boyfriend. We've been together for eight years. We have two beautiful children together…"

She nodded. "I can accept that."  
Yugi smiled. "This is Aemi. She's your granddaughter."

Seto leaned against the wall and watched as Yugi's mother suddenly became a part of Aemi's life. Part of him was terrified—what if she was just playing nice? But most of him knew that she was gentle and kind. He wanted to trust her, and he was slowly beginning to feel that he could.

A/N: I think there will only be one more chapter…I decided to re-write the ending, which is what took so long on this update. Sorry, for that. I can't decide if I should do just an epilogue type thing or an actual chapter…any suggestions?


	9. Chapter 9

NINE—three months later

Kyo was on his belly trying hard to get up onto his knees. Yugi kept saying that any day he would begin to crawl, and after that it would only be a blink before he was running. Things had slowed down around the Kaiba house. There hadn't been any unexpected occurrences since Yugi was discharged from the hospital. Things were…calm.

Yugi's mother was sitting on the floor next to Kyo and Aemi was reading a book on the couch next to Seto. Yugi was somewhere making lunch and Seto was just…watching everything happen.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so comfortable with someone other than his own family—his small family of four. When he'd let Yugi's mother into his life, things had quickly changed for him.

_ Three months ago_

_At some point, Seto had dozed off and when he awoke he had to blink back his confusion. He was still sitting in Yugi's hospital room, and all was quiet. Yugi had his arm wrapped around Aemi in the bed and his breathing was steady. His vitals looked good on the monitor. _

_ It was almost a relief. Things seemed…normal. _

_ "She's beautiful," Yugi's mother said, startling Seto. _

_ It took him a moment to realize she meant Aemi. "She is," he said quietly._

_ "Your eyes…Who is her mother?"_

_ Seto had to bite his tongue to be civil, but he found it wasn't nearly as hard as he'd imagined. "We used a surrogate," he said. "One that looked very much like Yugi."_

_ "Don't take this personally," she said, "but I am not one bit happy you and my son have chosen this life."_

_ "I know," Seto responded, surprised at how calm it had come out._

_ "But that doesn't mean I want to cut his happiness apart. He was a sad child—always was. When we took him to Domino City…I thought…it was best he be raised by his grandfather."_

_ "A lot has happened since then," Seto said. "Maybe the past should be forgotten."_

_ "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it."_

_ He bit his lip and sighed. "He never spoke of you—either of you. Ever. Not even once."_

_ "His father just wanted an heir to the company. It's been a Moto company for six generations."_

_ "And what if Yugi doesn't want it?"_

_ She shrugged. "It'll pass to a different family, I suppose, when my husband dies."_

_ Seto didn't see the problem with that, so he just shrugged. _

_ "It's not easy, is it?" the woman said. _

_ "What?"_

_ "Trying to be someone else."_

_ He had to squint at her. "What do you mean?"_

_ "I can see it in your eyes…how badly you want to scream at me, curse me. And yet you don't. You must put on a façade for my son, yes?"_

_ "Yugi has known me a long time," Seto said plainly. "I didn't have to change for him."_

_ "And yet you did."_

_ "You do things for the people you love," he responded, and then his eyes widened. It was his first public admission._

_ The woman's eyes softened. "Yes, you do."_

_ The room was very quiet for several moments. Seto's eyes stayed on Yugi and he tried to find a way to get over his embarrassment. He was not ashamed to love Yugi…but admitting it, to his mother nonetheless, had been so easy. It was strange how the words had just rolled off his tongue—as if he'd said them a million times before._

_ "Mrs. Moto," Seto said._

_ "Please, dear, call me Yuko."_

_ "Yuko," he tried out the name, "your husband mentioned…that Yugi had a fiancé?"_

_ She nodded. "It has always been the intention of the Fukoshi family that Yugi and their daughter Aribelle marry. They were betrothed at a young age."_

_ "So it's true, then?"_

_ She laughed gently. "You live in a country where it is illegal to force marriage arranged between children, Mr. Kaiba. And besides. It is clear my son is already taken."_

_ Seto smiled, and for the first time in a while it was a genuine smile. "Would you like to meet Kyo?" he asked softly, and Yuko nodded eagerly. _

Kyo cooed and Yugi laughed about something. Seto felt so far away…and yet he was there, right in the middle of a perfect life with a perfect family.

He felt something in his chest—his heart pounding. He was feeling an emotion he hadn't been able to put a name to. It wasn't just love: He'd already admitted to that one. It was something more…something he didn't understand.

That night, after Yuko had left and Yugi and Seto were alone in bed and the children were asleep, the feeling returned.

"What's wrong?" Yugi asked, and Seto just shook his head.

"Nothing."

"That's a weird feeling," Yugi laughed, and Seto nodded. "I'm really happy, you know," Yugi said.

"Why?"

"Because I have you, and I have Aemi, and I have Kyo. I have a family who loves me, a boyfriend who loves me. What more could make someone happy?"

He shrugged in response. By Yugi's logic, Seto should be just as happy. He should be proud to be where they were.

"I think…I need something else," Seto sighed, and Yugi's eyes widened.

"Something else? What do you mean?"

"I'm not happy with just a boyfriend and two kids. I want something else.

His voice was stiff and his eyes slanted towards Yugi. He could see an adverse reaction than what he had planned.

"D-do you want to b-break up?" Yugi stuttered.

"Of course not," Seto rolled his eyes. "You're taking me all wrong."

"Then what do you want? What _more_ do you need?"

Seto shrugged. "I don't know yet."

"You're not making sense…and you're scaring me."

"I want everyone to know who I am—who we are."

"Who are we?" Yugi whispered.

"I think…we should…" he paused, and then shook his head. "Never mind."

"What?"

"I don't want to be cliché."

"About what?"

"I want two kids and a dog and a house with a yard and the white picket fence—you know, the American dream."

"This is Canada," Yugi said before he could stop himself.

"Well, then I want the Canadian Dream."

"What's that?"

"I don't know, Yugi. You're really making this hard."

"Making what hard?"

"I'm trying to tell you something."

"Then just tell me!"

Seto sighed. "I don't know how to say it."

"Use words?"

He sighed again. "I think…we should…"

"We should _what_?" Yugi demanded, this time placing a soft kiss on Seto's bare shoulder. "Anything you want, I'm not going to say no."

"Anything?"

"Anything," Yugi promised.

"Well, let's get a dog."

Yugi's eyes furrowed.

"And let's buy a house with a white fence."

"Why?"

"Because I want to marry you."

A/N: Kind of silly ending, but I didn't want to keep you waiting anymore. So…there it is.


End file.
